http://www.sendspace.com/file/glxglg
Since there's no chance in hell that I'll waste Christmas day blogging this thing, Merry Christmas in advance. Took the Christmas level off my heavily delayed SHPDMBGWL4 3 Expansion and released it to the public. Enjoy!
Monday, 24 December 2007
Saturday, 15 December 2007
By the way - NiGHTS
See, there's a cult classic, often considered the best game on my favourite console the Sega Saturn, coming back. Yeah, it's NiGHTS into Dreams. I've got mixed views on the Wii sequel but what I really need to mention is the somewhat newly-announced PS2 port of the original.
The Japanese have stolen it and don't seem to want to give it to anyone else, but Sega are doing one of the best things they've done since F-Zero GX, and that's port the game over, even if it is to a system on it's way out. They've improved the graphics (although have kept the Saturn version in for no reason whatsoever) but most importantly they've included Christmas NiGHTS - the best Christmas-themed game ever (Sorry Mission In Snowdriftland). I got an import of Christmas NiGHTS for the Saturn last year and I must say it's a very impressive little thing. Doesn't offer much I suppose, just one level with a Christmas theme (although it changes depending on the time of year) but it does offer one of the best easter eggs ever - Sonic into Dreams, the first 3D Sonic game ever (real 3D that is).
I hang out at a Mario forum so I'm surrounded by people who have never played this game. Here's your chance. Miles more interesting than a boring old RPG with the same bunch of anime characters you see in the majority of Japanese-only games.
The Japanese have stolen it and don't seem to want to give it to anyone else, but Sega are doing one of the best things they've done since F-Zero GX, and that's port the game over, even if it is to a system on it's way out. They've improved the graphics (although have kept the Saturn version in for no reason whatsoever) but most importantly they've included Christmas NiGHTS - the best Christmas-themed game ever (Sorry Mission In Snowdriftland). I got an import of Christmas NiGHTS for the Saturn last year and I must say it's a very impressive little thing. Doesn't offer much I suppose, just one level with a Christmas theme (although it changes depending on the time of year) but it does offer one of the best easter eggs ever - Sonic into Dreams, the first 3D Sonic game ever (real 3D that is).
I hang out at a Mario forum so I'm surrounded by people who have never played this game. Here's your chance. Miles more interesting than a boring old RPG with the same bunch of anime characters you see in the majority of Japanese-only games.
Hey kids
You know I made the Christmas level for this game back in September. The beginning of September. Back then I had hoped to have it out by my Birthday, now it's doubtful I'll have it out by Christmas. But hey, enjoy a main menu that I implanted the other day. There's more stuff on it, but I'm not revealing what "stuff" that is. You'll have to unlock it when the time comes. This screen's already fooled people into thinking it was Kirby Superstar DS... no I'm not sure how you could really fall for it either.
Luckily for you I may just release the Christmas level separately because it pains me to see you people suffer without some duck-in-tank action.
Thursday, 6 December 2007
Haven't posted in a bit
I'll spare you the SSBB rant about that possible Q3 release date and say everyone should get Super Mario Galaxy... because that's what's been stopping me from posting stuff for the last few weeks. Not that I've been particularly inspired to do any blog-worthy stuff anyway, but still, go get that game, 'tis great.
Monday, 19 November 2007
...and the winner for "Best Secrets 2007" is...
TOAD STRIKES BACK
Well I suppose you should expect that really, but thanks anyway. Might have helped if I'd posted the link more publically as well but it's surprising Player Adventure even got nominated!
Lets see if SHPDMBGWL4 3 EX can take the gold next year...
Well I suppose you should expect that really, but thanks anyway. Might have helped if I'd posted the link more publically as well but it's surprising Player Adventure even got nominated!
Lets see if SHPDMBGWL4 3 EX can take the gold next year...
Saturday, 10 November 2007
Game of the Moment - 10/11/07
It's a miracle that I managed to get a Nintendo 64 emulator to work on this computer. Even moreso that Project 64 emulates it pretty damn well. So I've been having a second go at Banjo-Kazooie, one of my favourite N64 games of all time and one I'm constantly stealing ideas from in order to make SHPDMBGWL4 3 Ex, which I've somehow managed to plug AGAIN. If you've not played this game then sucks to be you, and in this case, just playing a bit of it at a friend's house doesn't count. BK needs to be played from the beginning because it's practically worthless once you've done everything (sorry, but it is).
If I were ever to go for the video game industry in terms of a job, I'd probably have a try at Rare simply because of this game (and the Donkey Kong ones... and Conker). Banjo-Kazooie is an amazing, well polished (at least on the actual console - Project 64's not to great with the transitions and it doesn't always run at 60fps over here) game that quite frankly, beats the crap out of Super Mario 64 nine times out of ten... sort of. I always thought it was amazing that Midway's Mortal Kombat division made a character out of MK2's ERMAC error - Rareware did something very similar with Banjo-Kazooie, naming a good half-dozen characters in the sequel after insults thrown out by Kazooie or Gruntilda in this game. Mario remains a mute in Super Mario 64, whereas all the characters (and objects) in this communicate with strange noises just for the hell of it. Only other game I can remember off the top of my head that did this was Fur Fighters on the Dreamcast, which even then was changed in the PS2 remake (btw play that as well since that's fantastic too). Grunty speaks in rhymes, everything has eyes... it's tiny things like these that make this game stand out from all your ordinary platformers.
Rare also have a habit of screwing about with the brains of their fans. Over the last 10 years they've been hinting at the hyped but removed Stop 'n' Swop feature which I love for reasons unknown. Yes I was sad enough to raise Shark Food Island and get the pink egg before opening Bubblegloop Swamp (pictured above). To think the game was originally planned to be compatible with Donkey Kong 64 and Banjo-Tooie... shame they never made a Sonic & Knuckles lock on cartridge.
I won't go into great detail since I know rambling stretches this blog down a bit, but to put it simply, invest in this game if you haven't already. Who knows it might even get on the Wii's virtual console... not to mention Banjo 3's in the works for the Xbox 360. You shouldn't be displeased unless you're trying to be.
Wednesday, 7 November 2007
And the nominations for "Best Secrets" are...
...PLAYER ADVENTURE
Yeah they've been up for a couple of days now, but I've just noticed Player Adventure (you know, that game I made in ONE day followed by half a dozen sequels of equally crappy quality and seizures) was nominated for the best secrets award at MFGG. It's going against the excellent Toad Strikes Back that's been in development since 2002 and recently got a release at NCFC (You know, probably the best game at MFGG and very close to Nintendo quality). Will it win? Find out on the 19th or whenever. Regardless I'd be a fool not to mention this in SHPDMBGWL4 3 EX, especially considering I've already devoted a large part of that game to pointless jabbering between characters on unrelated subjects.
I also got nominated for best reviewer but I'm not one to brag and you're not likely to care. Obviously though, thanks to everyone who cared enough to vote for me and my creation. I luv u all.
Yeah they've been up for a couple of days now, but I've just noticed Player Adventure (you know, that game I made in ONE day followed by half a dozen sequels of equally crappy quality and seizures) was nominated for the best secrets award at MFGG. It's going against the excellent Toad Strikes Back that's been in development since 2002 and recently got a release at NCFC (You know, probably the best game at MFGG and very close to Nintendo quality). Will it win? Find out on the 19th or whenever. Regardless I'd be a fool not to mention this in SHPDMBGWL4 3 EX, especially considering I've already devoted a large part of that game to pointless jabbering between characters on unrelated subjects.
I also got nominated for best reviewer but I'm not one to brag and you're not likely to care. Obviously though, thanks to everyone who cared enough to vote for me and my creation. I luv u all.
Monday, 5 November 2007
Oh god
Looks like Quackers made a site.
Only reason this exists is because it's a shame to waste it otherwise. It's only a temporary thing mind you. Might get deleted if I run out of bandwidth or space or whatever.
Only reason this exists is because it's a shame to waste it otherwise. It's only a temporary thing mind you. Might get deleted if I run out of bandwidth or space or whatever.
Wednesday, 24 October 2007
NCFC
http://ncfc.taloncrossing.com/
Although really I don't know why I'm posting this since 99% of you will be from MFGG anyway.
Although really I don't know why I'm posting this since 99% of you will be from MFGG anyway.
Sunday, 21 October 2007
When worlds collide
Presenting a completely original character not based on a 1991 trademark - Walrushog.
Will the "game" be completed? Probably not, but no doubt I'll release something. Kudos to Glukom for the idea.
In other news I do hope Google removes this new piece of code for blogger that pointlessly blurs images. Now I've got to edit HTML like a chump.
Monday, 15 October 2007
The On Hold Project
See the thing about The Obscure Ripping Project is... well, it's inconvenient. Blog Squirrel? Less so. But my attempts to intergrate this blog into tORP have failed horribly, and that, along with the fact it takes ages to update it in the first place, means it's going to be inactive for a bit.
However part of that is due to the fact I haven't got anything worthwhile to update it with, so any heads up in the direction of obscure games wouldn't go a miss. Also obscure Mario rips will be going on MFGG as always.
So in case you're wondering why the thing hasn't updated since August... that's your reason.
However part of that is due to the fact I haven't got anything worthwhile to update it with, so any heads up in the direction of obscure games wouldn't go a miss. Also obscure Mario rips will be going on MFGG as always.
So in case you're wondering why the thing hasn't updated since August... that's your reason.
Saturday, 6 October 2007
Somewhere in Austria
Haven't really done anything amazing with SHPDMBGWL4 3 Ex for a while now other than secret levels... Heck there's more secret levels than normal ones at the moment. Difficult to come up with ideas that are better than the ones in the previous game. Can't even guarantee this screen will be in the final release. If it isn't, you'll see it eventually in some form, or maybe you've already seen it in some form (hint), what with time travel being a major thing and all.
Don't kill me ShadowMan.
Friday, 5 October 2007
Random Review - Sin & Punishment
Once again I've got nothing better to do.
Sin & Punishment. An N64 game made by Treasure (Known for hits like Gunstar Heroes and Dynamite Headdy) that only recently hit our shores in the form of a Virtual Console import. I'll be honest with you, I hadn't even heard of this until a few months ago, nevermind play it, and that'll be down to the fact it never got out of Japan and doesn't have a huge cult following like say, the Mother series or whatever. It's an on-the-rails shooter where you control low-polygon people on foot, blasting random stuff.
I haven't finished the game so I'll rate what I've done so far (Which I suppose could be quite a lot, I dunno). S&P is a wierd game. It supposedly takes place in the future (I think it's actually set in 2007, which was seven years in the future from 2000) and from the sounds of things follows a bloke called "Saki" a woman that's basically a clone of the man in terms of gameplay and some annoying emo girl thing that betrays them and does psychic stuff. The three originally go out to beat a man called "Brad" and his annoying rat thing. No I wasn't paying attention to the story too much. There's a lot of it and the voice acting isn't that good (which is understandable I suppose), not to mention the story is deep. As far as I see it it's just a completely random adventure beating robot things.
So your man or woman walks forward most of the time and you shoot stuff with the control stick and fire buttons. It's all good. Man/Woman can also jump about and slash stuff with swords. Also good. Levels get a bit wacky later on but all look fine on N64 hardware. The only problem as you would imagine is the character models in the cutscenes which as already said, look a bit dodgy due to their lack of polygons. Music reminds me of the oldish Arcade games where 3D was the best thing since sliced bread. Not particularly memorable, but certainly gives off an Arcade experience (and at least it's not like a lot of modern games and has a completely dull and boring soundtrack).
Overall pretty cool, although I wouldn't go as far to say it's the best N64 game of all time. They say it beats StarFox but StarFox seems more polished and isn't story driven so I can't say I agree. Nevertheless it's still less than £10 so definitely a bargain considering it's limited release. Certainly better than stuff like Yoshi's Story that's coming up there soon (if it's not there already). Definately one of Treasure's finest works.
Sin & Punishment. An N64 game made by Treasure (Known for hits like Gunstar Heroes and Dynamite Headdy) that only recently hit our shores in the form of a Virtual Console import. I'll be honest with you, I hadn't even heard of this until a few months ago, nevermind play it, and that'll be down to the fact it never got out of Japan and doesn't have a huge cult following like say, the Mother series or whatever. It's an on-the-rails shooter where you control low-polygon people on foot, blasting random stuff.
I haven't finished the game so I'll rate what I've done so far (Which I suppose could be quite a lot, I dunno). S&P is a wierd game. It supposedly takes place in the future (I think it's actually set in 2007, which was seven years in the future from 2000) and from the sounds of things follows a bloke called "Saki" a woman that's basically a clone of the man in terms of gameplay and some annoying emo girl thing that betrays them and does psychic stuff. The three originally go out to beat a man called "Brad" and his annoying rat thing. No I wasn't paying attention to the story too much. There's a lot of it and the voice acting isn't that good (which is understandable I suppose), not to mention the story is deep. As far as I see it it's just a completely random adventure beating robot things.
So your man or woman walks forward most of the time and you shoot stuff with the control stick and fire buttons. It's all good. Man/Woman can also jump about and slash stuff with swords. Also good. Levels get a bit wacky later on but all look fine on N64 hardware. The only problem as you would imagine is the character models in the cutscenes which as already said, look a bit dodgy due to their lack of polygons. Music reminds me of the oldish Arcade games where 3D was the best thing since sliced bread. Not particularly memorable, but certainly gives off an Arcade experience (and at least it's not like a lot of modern games and has a completely dull and boring soundtrack).
Overall pretty cool, although I wouldn't go as far to say it's the best N64 game of all time. They say it beats StarFox but StarFox seems more polished and isn't story driven so I can't say I agree. Nevertheless it's still less than £10 so definitely a bargain considering it's limited release. Certainly better than stuff like Yoshi's Story that's coming up there soon (if it's not there already). Definately one of Treasure's finest works.
Wednesday, 19 September 2007
Games of the Moment - 19/09/07
Gives me something to do.
To be honest, all the games I've been playing at the moment are stuff that either have massive screenshots that are usually of lousy quality. Super Paper Mario, Metroid Prime 2, Crash Bandicoot - all good games worth playing (Although Crash 2/3 are a lot better than the first) but aren't worth blogging since a picture tells a thousand words.
Super Mario Bros. 2 (Japan)
Okay okay, there's nothing amazingly special about this one. Essentially it's the first Super Mario Bros. with new levels, newish graphics and a poison mushroom. Nintendo in their super-racist days did not allow this to get to America for fears this game would be "too hard", eventually releasing a re-tuned Doki Doki Panic there instead (and the rest of the world following). 20 years later the real SMB2 can be seen hanging around on our Wii Virtual Consoles and can be downloaded and played legally for the unfortunate price of 600 Wii points. No sign of it in the states yet. Take that yankees!
Although it's not a major win really. SMB2J is basically just an expansion pack to the first game. Not much has changed other than the things listed above - the rest is just a repeat of SMB1, which in comparison to later titles in the Mario franchise, ain't too great anymore. It got released eventually across the world in the form of Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels in SMAS for the SNES along with the other NES Mario platformers. That's easily the better version, but it's unlikely we'll see it again what with the Mario Advance series and the fact Nintendo can make more money releasing the games separately. Still, a nice game worthy of a good blogging, and as it's coming off the VC at the end of September, you better get it quickly.
Sonic Advance 2
I've been using a lot of stuff related to Sonic Advance 3 in SHPDMBGWL4 3 Ex, but Sonic Advance 3 is a pretty weak game when compared to it's immediate prequel. Sonic Advance 2 gets very little love really. It's tossed aside for being too fast and the overuse of the right key, and I can see why - most of the levels are just running to the right. This is only a recent argument against it though, partly because pretty much every Sonic game since has raped the formula and spoilt the 2D franchise slightly. I see Advance 2 as more of a spin-off as it's radically different to any of the previous titles. It's all about speed, and it's the first to do so. It's engine is devoted to showing off the GBA's running speed and it does a damn good job at it.
Things aren't perfect, but they're not bad by any means. Advance 1 beats it in terms of gameplay but Advance 2 is definitely the best looking of the series, and the best sounding. Cream the Rabbit is by definition, a lousy character and way too easy to play as, but she's a lot more bearable than Amy that comes along a while later. There's a lot of pros and cons in Sonic Advance 2 and I can't be bothered to list them all, but lets just say this is also a worthy purchase. Unfortunately Advance 3, being built off Advance 2, fails due to it's mis-use of the Sonic Advance 2 engine. A purely running based engine in an environment consisting of non-pure running based levels has some lousy results, compiled with a poor choice of music/sounds and not so great graphics. I can't see the magic there like with the other two.
Anyway that killed a few minutes. Get both sometime.
To be honest, all the games I've been playing at the moment are stuff that either have massive screenshots that are usually of lousy quality. Super Paper Mario, Metroid Prime 2, Crash Bandicoot - all good games worth playing (Although Crash 2/3 are a lot better than the first) but aren't worth blogging since a picture tells a thousand words.
Super Mario Bros. 2 (Japan)
Okay okay, there's nothing amazingly special about this one. Essentially it's the first Super Mario Bros. with new levels, newish graphics and a poison mushroom. Nintendo in their super-racist days did not allow this to get to America for fears this game would be "too hard", eventually releasing a re-tuned Doki Doki Panic there instead (and the rest of the world following). 20 years later the real SMB2 can be seen hanging around on our Wii Virtual Consoles and can be downloaded and played legally for the unfortunate price of 600 Wii points. No sign of it in the states yet. Take that yankees!
Although it's not a major win really. SMB2J is basically just an expansion pack to the first game. Not much has changed other than the things listed above - the rest is just a repeat of SMB1, which in comparison to later titles in the Mario franchise, ain't too great anymore. It got released eventually across the world in the form of Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels in SMAS for the SNES along with the other NES Mario platformers. That's easily the better version, but it's unlikely we'll see it again what with the Mario Advance series and the fact Nintendo can make more money releasing the games separately. Still, a nice game worthy of a good blogging, and as it's coming off the VC at the end of September, you better get it quickly.
Sonic Advance 2
I've been using a lot of stuff related to Sonic Advance 3 in SHPDMBGWL4 3 Ex, but Sonic Advance 3 is a pretty weak game when compared to it's immediate prequel. Sonic Advance 2 gets very little love really. It's tossed aside for being too fast and the overuse of the right key, and I can see why - most of the levels are just running to the right. This is only a recent argument against it though, partly because pretty much every Sonic game since has raped the formula and spoilt the 2D franchise slightly. I see Advance 2 as more of a spin-off as it's radically different to any of the previous titles. It's all about speed, and it's the first to do so. It's engine is devoted to showing off the GBA's running speed and it does a damn good job at it.
Things aren't perfect, but they're not bad by any means. Advance 1 beats it in terms of gameplay but Advance 2 is definitely the best looking of the series, and the best sounding. Cream the Rabbit is by definition, a lousy character and way too easy to play as, but she's a lot more bearable than Amy that comes along a while later. There's a lot of pros and cons in Sonic Advance 2 and I can't be bothered to list them all, but lets just say this is also a worthy purchase. Unfortunately Advance 3, being built off Advance 2, fails due to it's mis-use of the Sonic Advance 2 engine. A purely running based engine in an environment consisting of non-pure running based levels has some lousy results, compiled with a poor choice of music/sounds and not so great graphics. I can't see the magic there like with the other two.
Anyway that killed a few minutes. Get both sometime.
Monday, 17 September 2007
Progress
Why did I even make this blog? All I seem to be doing is posting pointless VC updates and this site does it better than me! Oh well.
Still slowly making this (SHPDMBGWL4 3 Ex btw). I seem to be having a "level ideas block" and as such I've started coding even more secrety things. Good chance they'll disappoint since I'm also having a "secret reward block". So now as well as having a new set of eggs, keys, glory emblems, secret levels and half a dozen other things, it's also got gems, relics and Gemrelics™. Don't worry, I've got those platinum Gemrelics before, it's not THAT hard.
Think of it as being a tribute to the old Crash Bandicoot formula being abandoned in favour of the CotT one. Also my Aku Aku and Uka Uka don't look ugly.
Still slowly making this (SHPDMBGWL4 3 Ex btw). I seem to be having a "level ideas block" and as such I've started coding even more secrety things. Good chance they'll disappoint since I'm also having a "secret reward block". So now as well as having a new set of eggs, keys, glory emblems, secret levels and half a dozen other things, it's also got gems, relics and Gemrelics™. Don't worry, I've got those platinum Gemrelics before, it's not THAT hard.
Think of it as being a tribute to the old Crash Bandicoot formula being abandoned in favour of the CotT one. Also my Aku Aku and Uka Uka don't look ugly.
Thursday, 13 September 2007
Super Paper Mario release tomorrow
Meaning I can finally stop my five month rant on its unnecessary delay. I could probably post this tomorrow but I'm bored so here's a post a day in advance. Here's also hoping this is the last major Wii title to get a delay this long. Now I can focus all my energy in complaining about Brawl's 2008 date =P
Again though, nothing really interesting to post. If there's no fantastic VC releases tomorrow it could be a while until I blog something else.
Again though, nothing really interesting to post. If there's no fantastic VC releases tomorrow it could be a while until I blog something else.
Tuesday, 11 September 2007
It's my Birthday
...and I suppose I should say something... except I still don't really have much to say. I was aiming to get SHPDMBGWL4 3 Ex out by now, but lack of inspiration has delayed it a bit. Nevertheless "11091990" will do something when it's released.
Now I'm off to eat cake.
Now I'm off to eat cake.
Saturday, 1 September 2007
Here's one I made earlier
Two updates in one day? Wow.
Due to the Player Adventure games being untested and impossible I've released them in one half-tested possible package. Yeah I sorta did that before, but this time it's all in one executable rather than five, and comes with some handy dandy extras. The errors addressed a couple of updates ago have been fixed, but it's likely that I may have made a couple more mistakes while porting (You can blame TGF for that one). I've damaged my eyes enough with this series, so I haven't checked through each game to the end, so feel free to report more probs.
This'll be compatible with the SHPDMBGWL4 3 Expansion pack I'm making.
EDIT: Now with fixed buttons and sound in PA5.
Command & Conquer: Now Freeware!
The Technology of Peace
That's right, the first Command & Conquer just got released as Freeware. If you've not played this in some form, you've already lost a great chunk of your life. It single handedly brought me into the world of RTS games, and if you're not an RTS fan, it could do the same to you. It's two mighty huge ISOs so it could take a while to download, but it's worth it. Kane is quite possibly one of the best video game villians ever.
You could argue it's the weakest game in the series other than some of those expansions, but by weak that means "1995's best game of the year".
That's right, the first Command & Conquer just got released as Freeware. If you've not played this in some form, you've already lost a great chunk of your life. It single handedly brought me into the world of RTS games, and if you're not an RTS fan, it could do the same to you. It's two mighty huge ISOs so it could take a while to download, but it's worth it. Kane is quite possibly one of the best video game villians ever.
You could argue it's the weakest game in the series other than some of those expansions, but by weak that means "1995's best game of the year".
Sunday, 26 August 2007
Missing Codes
Mr. BanjoSonic alerted me that a couple of the Player Adventure codes are borked, and since they're needed for Player Adventure 4/5 AND SHPDMBGWL4 3, I better post them.
PA3's R Code: 7646
PA3's Pong Code: 9056
PA4's PA5 code: 7430
My fault for not checking through. The full list is hidden in SHPDMBGWL4 3 and I'll provide instructions on how to get to it in the next game of mine. Sadly you miss a large chunk of PA3 because of this.
PA3's R Code: 7646
PA3's Pong Code: 9056
PA4's PA5 code: 7430
My fault for not checking through. The full list is hidden in SHPDMBGWL4 3 and I'll provide instructions on how to get to it in the next game of mine. Sadly you miss a large chunk of PA3 because of this.
Thursday, 23 August 2007
Random Review - Chaotix
Regular PC will be back up and running by the weekend, but I've not got much else to do in between times. So hey lets blog about some random game for some reason because I haven't got a review site to do it on instead.
Knuckles Chaotix. There's loads of people against ROMs and as such they never get to play this, or if they do they end up wasting loads of cash on a 32X that isn't guaranteed to work and doesn't really offer anything else of value that hasn't been ported onto better consoles. Don't get it. Okay, get it, but not on a real 32X. Sure you miss out on the joys of a MegaDrive controller, but it's barely playable anyway.
So what's wrong with it? Loads. Chaotix started it's life as Sonic Crackers, a MegaDrive proto that's been surfing the net for years. The concept was that Sonic and Tails would be joined together at all times, having to use each other to progress. Crackers is glitch city but has surprisingly great music. Chaotix was built off Crackers, and Sonic became Mighty yada yada yada details. Sega did the stupid move of making the 32X, a system that boasted the same amount of colours as a SNES and could be fitted on top of a MegaDrive to play 32X games. Sega had already done this with the Mega CD though, so customers were already getting confused. There's even 5 Mega CD 32x games that need both to work. Chaotix became a 32X game, and possibly the only decent original game on the platform.
But enough about the history. Chaotix clearly tries to use as much of the 32X's new features as possible. Particle effects, re-sizing, colours etc. It looks great, although looks like an ordinary MegaDrive game at times. Gameplay is a fixed Crackers, but unfortunately it still uses the whole partner system. Yes you get a lot of characters to choose from and they're all different, but it still feels broken. You're always flying about and the computer player always holds you back in some way and you're left with the impression "Why didn't they just make a true sequel to Sonic 3 & Knuckles?".
The levels are huge, but they're all the same. There's really only 5 levels, each getting a palette change once they're randomly selected. Levels are huge due to the flying about, but huge is a bit boring. It's just basic running and jumping. The switches in the first screenshot only appear in the introductory level. The rest you can complete in seconds with Charmy Bee as he carries the other guy with him and renders the other characters useless. Mighty and Espio are already inferior to Knuckles and Vector, and Heavy and Bomb are useless.
The music's also WORSE than that of Sonic Crackers. The 32X didn't improve on the sound much either so there's no excuse for this.
Possibly the most disappointing part? The special stages. The 32X's 3D capabilities, much like the SNES's aren't too great, but like all Sonic games, the special stages house the most advanced features. The result, a hexagonal tube of hatred. Jumping about with a lack of draw distance, this is probably THE worst special stage in a Sonic game, except for Sonic 3D Blast on the MegaDrive and the Advance series. Better if they'd waited a year or two for the Saturn to roll along so that they could do this properly.
Don't get me wrong though, Chaotix is far from being the worst Sonic game ever. Despite the control system being stupid and it really just being there to market the 32X's abilities it's a solid game and is the last "classic" 2D Sonic platformer. You can see what they're trying to do but it just isn't done.
The conclusion: Don't get this on the 32X. It should have been a Saturn game (Because lets face it, THAT's the console that needed Sonic and friends), it should have dropped the partner system (Which strangely it does as a "punishment" for if you run out of rings and get hit), and it should have been included in Sonic Gems Collection. You may not see this one again, so get the ROM and enjoy. Sure that's illegal, but hey, surely all those purchases to play the cart off your TV must be a crime too. The fans want it on the Wii's Virtual Console, but lets face it, Sega are clearly masking the 32X or else it would have been included in Mega/Gems Collection (and there's half a dozen Sonics to come first). There's also a hack that replaces Mighty with Sonic, if you care.
On another note, Mario Galaxy only gets released 4 days earlier in America than here. Thank god it's not months.
Knuckles Chaotix. There's loads of people against ROMs and as such they never get to play this, or if they do they end up wasting loads of cash on a 32X that isn't guaranteed to work and doesn't really offer anything else of value that hasn't been ported onto better consoles. Don't get it. Okay, get it, but not on a real 32X. Sure you miss out on the joys of a MegaDrive controller, but it's barely playable anyway.
So what's wrong with it? Loads. Chaotix started it's life as Sonic Crackers, a MegaDrive proto that's been surfing the net for years. The concept was that Sonic and Tails would be joined together at all times, having to use each other to progress. Crackers is glitch city but has surprisingly great music. Chaotix was built off Crackers, and Sonic became Mighty yada yada yada details. Sega did the stupid move of making the 32X, a system that boasted the same amount of colours as a SNES and could be fitted on top of a MegaDrive to play 32X games. Sega had already done this with the Mega CD though, so customers were already getting confused. There's even 5 Mega CD 32x games that need both to work. Chaotix became a 32X game, and possibly the only decent original game on the platform.
But enough about the history. Chaotix clearly tries to use as much of the 32X's new features as possible. Particle effects, re-sizing, colours etc. It looks great, although looks like an ordinary MegaDrive game at times. Gameplay is a fixed Crackers, but unfortunately it still uses the whole partner system. Yes you get a lot of characters to choose from and they're all different, but it still feels broken. You're always flying about and the computer player always holds you back in some way and you're left with the impression "Why didn't they just make a true sequel to Sonic 3 & Knuckles?".
The levels are huge, but they're all the same. There's really only 5 levels, each getting a palette change once they're randomly selected. Levels are huge due to the flying about, but huge is a bit boring. It's just basic running and jumping. The switches in the first screenshot only appear in the introductory level. The rest you can complete in seconds with Charmy Bee as he carries the other guy with him and renders the other characters useless. Mighty and Espio are already inferior to Knuckles and Vector, and Heavy and Bomb are useless.
The music's also WORSE than that of Sonic Crackers. The 32X didn't improve on the sound much either so there's no excuse for this.
Possibly the most disappointing part? The special stages. The 32X's 3D capabilities, much like the SNES's aren't too great, but like all Sonic games, the special stages house the most advanced features. The result, a hexagonal tube of hatred. Jumping about with a lack of draw distance, this is probably THE worst special stage in a Sonic game, except for Sonic 3D Blast on the MegaDrive and the Advance series. Better if they'd waited a year or two for the Saturn to roll along so that they could do this properly.
Don't get me wrong though, Chaotix is far from being the worst Sonic game ever. Despite the control system being stupid and it really just being there to market the 32X's abilities it's a solid game and is the last "classic" 2D Sonic platformer. You can see what they're trying to do but it just isn't done.
The conclusion: Don't get this on the 32X. It should have been a Saturn game (Because lets face it, THAT's the console that needed Sonic and friends), it should have dropped the partner system (Which strangely it does as a "punishment" for if you run out of rings and get hit), and it should have been included in Sonic Gems Collection. You may not see this one again, so get the ROM and enjoy. Sure that's illegal, but hey, surely all those purchases to play the cart off your TV must be a crime too. The fans want it on the Wii's Virtual Console, but lets face it, Sega are clearly masking the 32X or else it would have been included in Mega/Gems Collection (and there's half a dozen Sonics to come first). There's also a hack that replaces Mighty with Sonic, if you care.
On another note, Mario Galaxy only gets released 4 days earlier in America than here. Thank god it's not months.
Monday, 20 August 2007
Games of the Moment - 20/08/07
Second time. This must be a feature or something.
It's an odd moment too. Due to redecorating, my regular PC's been offline (and managed to die on me after being moved, but that's a different story), so I've been reduced to my good old lappy which finds new ways to annoy me every time I use it. It's got an odd selection of games on it, from Quake III to Sonic Spinball Beta but these are the main two I've been playing:
N
If you've not played N then where the hell have you been? It's a platforming puzzler game thing with great physics. Not providing a screenshot this time because I don't want anything resized.
N is a flash game, but unlike the majority of flash games, it's fun to play. Your Ninja bloke can jump around and hang on walls, and your job is to get to the goal by flicking switches, avoiding enemies and getting gold before the time runs out. Think Lode Runner but with more freedom. It's got a level editor and hundreds of maps, and it's being ported to the DS and PSP in the next few months. My recommendation? Play it for free. It'll be hosted online if you go looking, but downloading it equals less lag, and means you don't have to be online to play (which is pretty useful for this laptop).
Sonic 1 MegaMix
What on Earth are you putting these two together for? They're not similar in the slightest! Well, uh, because. Sonic 1 MegaMix is, by definition, the greatest Sonic 1 hack ever. Possibly the best Sonic hack ever. The latest version (3.0) set a new standard for Sonic hacks, and there's still work being done on it for another version.
So anyway, the MegaMix team made up of some of the finest hackers in the Sonic community took the Sonic 1 ROM, added Mighty the Armadillo and Shadow the Hedgehog, programmed in some crazy moves (Homing attack, spindash, that thing where you travel along lines of rings etc.), put in Sonic 3 shields, extended and changed the layout of levels, put in new graphics (Like in Misty Maze pictured above), new music (Michael Jackson's Moonwalker?!), super forms, save feature, a "hard" mode and half a dozen other things, thus creating what is essentially a new game entirely... well okay some levels are just palette changes but still.
Furthermore they left in the original Sonic 1 levels/music/whatever, so you can play them with your new powers and stuffs. And all done in the restrictions of MegaDrive hardware! Yes, you could probably play this on your real MegaDrive. The only problem with this game is that obviously, it's half illegal what with it being a Sonic 1 ROM, but that shouldn't stop you. I mentioned this in the SAGE update not too long ago as well, and surely if I'm recommending it twice it needs a download.
So yeah, got some strange stuff on this laptop, but shouldn't be too long until I can get back on my old PC and tell BanjoSonic the broken Player Adventure codes so that he can get his hedgehog-like paws on one of SHPDMBGWL4 3's secret endings. Also so I can finish the "Expansion Pack".
It's an odd moment too. Due to redecorating, my regular PC's been offline (and managed to die on me after being moved, but that's a different story), so I've been reduced to my good old lappy which finds new ways to annoy me every time I use it. It's got an odd selection of games on it, from Quake III to Sonic Spinball Beta but these are the main two I've been playing:
N
If you've not played N then where the hell have you been? It's a platforming puzzler game thing with great physics. Not providing a screenshot this time because I don't want anything resized.
N is a flash game, but unlike the majority of flash games, it's fun to play. Your Ninja bloke can jump around and hang on walls, and your job is to get to the goal by flicking switches, avoiding enemies and getting gold before the time runs out. Think Lode Runner but with more freedom. It's got a level editor and hundreds of maps, and it's being ported to the DS and PSP in the next few months. My recommendation? Play it for free. It'll be hosted online if you go looking, but downloading it equals less lag, and means you don't have to be online to play (which is pretty useful for this laptop).
Sonic 1 MegaMix
What on Earth are you putting these two together for? They're not similar in the slightest! Well, uh, because. Sonic 1 MegaMix is, by definition, the greatest Sonic 1 hack ever. Possibly the best Sonic hack ever. The latest version (3.0) set a new standard for Sonic hacks, and there's still work being done on it for another version.
So anyway, the MegaMix team made up of some of the finest hackers in the Sonic community took the Sonic 1 ROM, added Mighty the Armadillo and Shadow the Hedgehog, programmed in some crazy moves (Homing attack, spindash, that thing where you travel along lines of rings etc.), put in Sonic 3 shields, extended and changed the layout of levels, put in new graphics (Like in Misty Maze pictured above), new music (Michael Jackson's Moonwalker?!), super forms, save feature, a "hard" mode and half a dozen other things, thus creating what is essentially a new game entirely... well okay some levels are just palette changes but still.
Furthermore they left in the original Sonic 1 levels/music/whatever, so you can play them with your new powers and stuffs. And all done in the restrictions of MegaDrive hardware! Yes, you could probably play this on your real MegaDrive. The only problem with this game is that obviously, it's half illegal what with it being a Sonic 1 ROM, but that shouldn't stop you. I mentioned this in the SAGE update not too long ago as well, and surely if I'm recommending it twice it needs a download.
So yeah, got some strange stuff on this laptop, but shouldn't be too long until I can get back on my old PC and tell BanjoSonic the broken Player Adventure codes so that he can get his hedgehog-like paws on one of SHPDMBGWL4 3's secret endings. Also so I can finish the "Expansion Pack".
Wednesday, 15 August 2007
To the doom buggy
I'm liking the nice colourful Retro Sonic screen at the top of this blog so I'll keep this quick.
Epic game involving a tank-riding duck.
Enjoy!
Epic game involving a tank-riding duck.
Enjoy!
Tuesday, 14 August 2007
A great day in Sonic Fangaming
The Sonic Amateur Games Expo (SAGE) hosted by SFGHQ comes around annually and is essentially a small E3 that's completely web-based. Now don't get me wrong, if you've got Ryan Drummond (The official voice of Sonic) doing a chat room session it's hardly a failure, but SAGE doesn't often have too many amazing games. One or two a year, if any. But SAGE this year had more amazing games than usual. Yeah that might be because it had Sonic 1 MegaMix, the greatest Sonic 1 hack ever, but it's also down because of the following two:
The first, pictured above is the brilliant Retro Sonic. Okay "brilliant" doesn't describe this properly. "Perfect" would be a better word. In fact, BETTER than perfect. And I'm not just taking the fanboy route here. Retro Sonic mimics the original Sonic physics almost exactly. In fact, unless I'm mistaken it uses the same coding. Or close to. But, since a standard PC nowadays isn't limited to the MegaDrive's low colour palette, memory, sound chip, processor etc. it's a hundred times better looking/sounding than the MegaDrive games. Well okay, I wouldn't have chosen all these graphics but still. There was a demo released in 2002 made in one of Clickteam's products and people loved it. This 2007 demo is made practically from scratch and is so much better.
Oh and the most amazing thing about Retro Sonic? IT WILL PLAY ANY MEGADRIVE SONIC LEVEL. Not this build, although this one does play Emerald Hill perfectly, but the final version. And you get to make your own. And lets not forget, this is being ported to the Dreamcast.
The second, Sonic XG. Not as hyped up as Retro, but still needs a mention. The above image doesn't give this game justice so take a look at their site. It's probably the nicest looking Sonic fangame out there at the moment, and it plays great too. Not perfect physics and will lag a bit on older machines but brilliant nonetheless. Music's better than Retro as well, and it follows on directly from Sonic 3 & Knuckles. This is a perfect example of what Sonic Team should be making, not wasting time with broken 3D engines, stupid story plots and useless characters. If Sega released this on the Wii, I'd buy it, even if it didn't push the system to it's limits (although a 3D bonus like the one in the Saturn Sonic 3D would be cool =P).
So yeah, download both now.
The first, pictured above is the brilliant Retro Sonic. Okay "brilliant" doesn't describe this properly. "Perfect" would be a better word. In fact, BETTER than perfect. And I'm not just taking the fanboy route here. Retro Sonic mimics the original Sonic physics almost exactly. In fact, unless I'm mistaken it uses the same coding. Or close to. But, since a standard PC nowadays isn't limited to the MegaDrive's low colour palette, memory, sound chip, processor etc. it's a hundred times better looking/sounding than the MegaDrive games. Well okay, I wouldn't have chosen all these graphics but still. There was a demo released in 2002 made in one of Clickteam's products and people loved it. This 2007 demo is made practically from scratch and is so much better.
Oh and the most amazing thing about Retro Sonic? IT WILL PLAY ANY MEGADRIVE SONIC LEVEL. Not this build, although this one does play Emerald Hill perfectly, but the final version. And you get to make your own. And lets not forget, this is being ported to the Dreamcast.
The second, Sonic XG. Not as hyped up as Retro, but still needs a mention. The above image doesn't give this game justice so take a look at their site. It's probably the nicest looking Sonic fangame out there at the moment, and it plays great too. Not perfect physics and will lag a bit on older machines but brilliant nonetheless. Music's better than Retro as well, and it follows on directly from Sonic 3 & Knuckles. This is a perfect example of what Sonic Team should be making, not wasting time with broken 3D engines, stupid story plots and useless characters. If Sega released this on the Wii, I'd buy it, even if it didn't push the system to it's limits (although a 3D bonus like the one in the Saturn Sonic 3D would be cool =P).
So yeah, download both now.
Saturday, 11 August 2007
So anyway
The reason I haven't posted in a few days is because I'm making something epic. How epic you say?
This epic. More at eleven.
This epic. More at eleven.
Wednesday, 8 August 2007
MFGG Sonic Skin
Oop.
MFGGers had a habit of thinking my last attempt was the final version despite me saying countless times I suck at picking colours. Here's more proof of this. No doubt it's better than before, but how the hell do you make a Sonic themed skin for MFGG without it looking like the default skin? Put your answers on a postcard and send it to the address above, or, even better take the images and experiment yourself. And yes, that Zip file does have the old background and headings. Might want to replace them.
I'll probably crack it eventually but here's a chance to beat me.
MFGGers had a habit of thinking my last attempt was the final version despite me saying countless times I suck at picking colours. Here's more proof of this. No doubt it's better than before, but how the hell do you make a Sonic themed skin for MFGG without it looking like the default skin? Put your answers on a postcard and send it to the address above, or, even better take the images and experiment yourself. And yes, that Zip file does have the old background and headings. Might want to replace them.
I'll probably crack it eventually but here's a chance to beat me.
Tuesday, 7 August 2007
Overlooked stuff?
SHPDMBGWL4 2 isn't really that great, I'll admit. It has it's moments, but by the time I got around to making it I'd run out of ideas. However...
...I did put Supertoad2k in it. I mean after all I did just go into Yoshi Vs. Windows and steal all his sprites. A surprise cameo was probably necessary. Don't worry though...
...Yoshi got in as well. I bet you managed to go through the entire game without noticing these. Note for the future - I like secret stuff.
...I did put Supertoad2k in it. I mean after all I did just go into Yoshi Vs. Windows and steal all his sprites. A surprise cameo was probably necessary. Don't worry though...
...Yoshi got in as well. I bet you managed to go through the entire game without noticing these. Note for the future - I like secret stuff.
Games of the Moment
As reccomended by myself. Stop messing around on your damn Pokémon games and play these instead. Or as well as. Doesn't apply as much if you already have played these, and since these two have been around a decade and a half you most likely have already. If you haven't, go google them.
Jill of the Jungle
Okay so that's Jill Goes Underground but it's from the same trilogy. Made back in the days when Epic Games were still "Mega", Jill of the Jungle is a VGA (although it does look as though it was originally for 16-colour users) platformer with puzzle elements. The difference between this and others? This one wins. Jill, armed with her crazy suit that manages to change colour every game, goes off somewhere and ends up saving a Prince. There's probably some big story here but I've never read it, I just go off the game titles. Jill gets random weapons floating in front of her, either the boomerang knife thing (As pictured) or a bouncing slicey thing and uses them to do battle with just about anything that moves, slugs, frogs, cute little bunnies, rocks etc. Fun.
Run it in DOSBox or VDMS or your deadly old PC with a Soundblaster sound card and you get to hear the digital music/sound effects which make this game even better. I used to play this with the PC speaker and thought it was pretty good, but the Soundblaster stuff makes it amazing, with all it's "YEAHHH"s and turntable scratching and all sorts of sounds that don't fit the game at all but are great. You also change into a bird and a fish on some levels. This is the sort of thing that needs to come back, not Unreal Tournament 23845098124 (although fish transformations would be good in that game I'm sure). Also the Jill games do something no other game does (Besides Kiloblaster although Jill does it better) - a NOISEMAKER. It's like a sound test, but every sound is assigned to a different keyboard key. Make your own "music". Brilliant.
Xargon
Xargon's very much the same game as Jill which is why I've grouped the two. Play as Malvineous as he goes and destroys Xargon or something. Same sort of thing as with Jill, jumping, climbing, attacking monsters etc. but with bigger and better sprites and a bit more difficult. Sadly there's no fish transformations, but you get a submarine at some point and you beat robots. You're also armed with the lazy man's weapon - a "bullet" that can be "fired" and controlled slightly. Sometimes you get powerups that allow you to fire more than one, and sometimes you get rocks/fireballs to throw. It lacks a noisemaker and isn't quite as good as Jill overall, but it's a little nicer on the eyes. Sound isn't as random either, although it has a shop system and has a few other little features that Jill doesn't. Overall a much more serious game but still great. By the way, ignore the "demo" in the shot above, I was lazy and just took a screenshot from the rolling demo.
Both are sadly shareware, so you can only get the first title of each legally. Nevertheless the other Jill games are easy to find (Xargon's a different story though - I've never found 2 or 3 on the net) and are worth the download. And I own them all (bar Xargon 2) on their original floppies :)
Jill of the Jungle
Okay so that's Jill Goes Underground but it's from the same trilogy. Made back in the days when Epic Games were still "Mega", Jill of the Jungle is a VGA (although it does look as though it was originally for 16-colour users) platformer with puzzle elements. The difference between this and others? This one wins. Jill, armed with her crazy suit that manages to change colour every game, goes off somewhere and ends up saving a Prince. There's probably some big story here but I've never read it, I just go off the game titles. Jill gets random weapons floating in front of her, either the boomerang knife thing (As pictured) or a bouncing slicey thing and uses them to do battle with just about anything that moves, slugs, frogs, cute little bunnies, rocks etc. Fun.
Run it in DOSBox or VDMS or your deadly old PC with a Soundblaster sound card and you get to hear the digital music/sound effects which make this game even better. I used to play this with the PC speaker and thought it was pretty good, but the Soundblaster stuff makes it amazing, with all it's "YEAHHH"s and turntable scratching and all sorts of sounds that don't fit the game at all but are great. You also change into a bird and a fish on some levels. This is the sort of thing that needs to come back, not Unreal Tournament 23845098124 (although fish transformations would be good in that game I'm sure). Also the Jill games do something no other game does (Besides Kiloblaster although Jill does it better) - a NOISEMAKER. It's like a sound test, but every sound is assigned to a different keyboard key. Make your own "music". Brilliant.
Xargon
Xargon's very much the same game as Jill which is why I've grouped the two. Play as Malvineous as he goes and destroys Xargon or something. Same sort of thing as with Jill, jumping, climbing, attacking monsters etc. but with bigger and better sprites and a bit more difficult. Sadly there's no fish transformations, but you get a submarine at some point and you beat robots. You're also armed with the lazy man's weapon - a "bullet" that can be "fired" and controlled slightly. Sometimes you get powerups that allow you to fire more than one, and sometimes you get rocks/fireballs to throw. It lacks a noisemaker and isn't quite as good as Jill overall, but it's a little nicer on the eyes. Sound isn't as random either, although it has a shop system and has a few other little features that Jill doesn't. Overall a much more serious game but still great. By the way, ignore the "demo" in the shot above, I was lazy and just took a screenshot from the rolling demo.
Both are sadly shareware, so you can only get the first title of each legally. Nevertheless the other Jill games are easy to find (Xargon's a different story though - I've never found 2 or 3 on the net) and are worth the download. And I own them all (bar Xargon 2) on their original floppies :)
Monday, 6 August 2007
Fangames of pure perfection
Since this blog's kicked out my Player Adventure MFGG signature link probably would be wise to have it listed here. And hey, while I'm at it, lets list ALL the crappy games I've helped make over the last couple of years:
The First Five Player Adventure Games
Super Hyper Paper Deluxe Mario Bros. Galaxy World Land 4: Partners In Sunshine Superstar Island & Saga of Time Advance 64 DS
SHPDMBGWL4:PISSI&SOTA64DS 2
Super Paper Mario Hyper Combo Finish 2
Super MFGG War (Alright this one isn't by any means bad but I better list it anyway. Also it's not like I really did anything here, just put skins and maps into a pack).
And to think, there's people nearly half my age creating perfect Super Mario clones.
The First Five Player Adventure Games
Super Hyper Paper Deluxe Mario Bros. Galaxy World Land 4: Partners In Sunshine Superstar Island & Saga of Time Advance 64 DS
SHPDMBGWL4:PISSI&SOTA64DS 2
Super Paper Mario Hyper Combo Finish 2
Super MFGG War (Alright this one isn't by any means bad but I better list it anyway. Also it's not like I really did anything here, just put skins and maps into a pack).
And to think, there's people nearly half my age creating perfect Super Mario clones.
Testing
For some crazy reason I decided to create a blog... not that there's really anything to blog, but still, might come in handy some day. It's 312469879325124 times easier updating this thing than with my current site, The Obscure Ripping Project, so if I don't end up using this as much as I had expected, I might be able to merge the two. Depends if Fateback is nice or if it's even possible... I didn't check.
Anyway nice title am i rite??
Anyway nice title am i rite??
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